Iran, US engaged in a lethal Chess game

One of the hottest 2008 imponderables is whether or not the tension between Washington and Tehran will erupt into conflict. It’s an open secret that the Bush administration has long had a plan to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities, and there was a time not so long ago when it appeared that plan was close to implementation.

However, the recent publication of a US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) strongly suggesting Iran abandoned any thoughts of developing nuclear weapons in 2003 put a temporary lid on the rumor mill.

Then Russian President Vladimir Putin, who, by the way, is also Time magazine’s “Person of the Year,” came along and spoiled it all.

When the NIE was published those of us who consider another war in this region to be anathema were celebratory. The US has shot itself in its own foot, we thought. Its own intelligence agencies have jointly decided that Iran’s nuclear activities constitute no immediate threat. So without a smoking gun and sans international approval that war plan will surely be destined for the shredder, we deduced.

Now Putin has come out with a message that says, “not so fast, Dr. Watson." Asked about the impact of the NIE, he had this to say: “If this CIA report has been published simply to divert the Iranians' attention from the real preparations for military action, something that is theoretically possible, then I believe that this would be very dangerous because any military action against Iran would represent yet another very big mistake . . ."

In other words, Putin believes the intelligence assessment could potentially be nothing more than a red herring designed to keep Tehran off guard in the event of a surprise attack. Online Journal